Reps investigate foreign Missions over corruption

The House of Representatives Tuesday mandated it’s the Committees on Foreign Relations and Public Procurement to investigate allegations of corruption in the Nigerian Missions abroad.

The investigation also spans “the measures to be devised to alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians in the diaspora.”

The Green Chamber also urged “the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure that Nigerian Missions abroad provide counseling and support to Nigerians in time of need and to operate a twenty-four (24) hours helpline and desk for Nigerians in the diaspora.”

The joint committee is to report back to the House within six (6) weeks for further legislative action.

The resolution of the House was sequel to the passage of a motion by two lawmakers, Rita Orji and Sergius Ose Ogun on the “Need to Investigate the Activities and the Procurement Process of Nigerian Embassies/High Commissions to cut Costs and Fight Corruption.”

The lawmakers while moving the motion said: ” Nigeria’s High Commissions and Embassies are administratively under the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as such have their individual budgets computed under the Ministry;

“All sums spent by the foreign missions are meant to be subjected by parliamentary oversight in the light of the fact that the spendings are provided for under the Appropriation Act passed by the National Assembly;

“Informed of the widely reported news by a number of online news media that sums running into thousands of Pounds have been spent by the Nigerian High Commission in London on activities as mundane as hiring a scaffold, clearing drainages and manholes.

“Also notes the allegations by Nigerians in the diaspora of acts of insensitivity, laxity, negligence and near outright maltreatment by consular staff of Nigerian Embassies/High Commissions across the world which inflict mental torture on them;

“The manifestations of these acts in the bureaucratic bottlenecks in the renewal of expired passports, extortion of money from those seeking assistance or redress and outright insensitivity to the plight of those in dire need which had resulted in the abandonment in a mental home in Turin Italy of one Julie Osamese whose kidney was stolen and the death of Nwadike Stephen Chukwuemeka in a deportation camp in Malaysia, etc.”

The lawmakers expressed concern about the need to investigate the activities of the High Commission and Embassies “including those payments were approved and disbursed and the procurement processes being employed by the Embassies and High Commissions, the Nation will continually be bled the sincerity of the government’s war against corruption will be called to question.”

However, the Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Hon. Nnena Elendu-Ukeje through an amendment sought the removal of committees of Diaspora and Interior from the investigations.

According to her, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in charge of embassies/ missions and the ministry is in turn under the supervision of the House committee on Foreign Relations, hence it would only be appropriate if the Foreign Relations Committee and Public Procurement conduct the investigation.

Members supported the amendment and the committees of Diaspora and Interior were removed from the mandate.

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Governor Tambuwal storms Abuja court with 35 lawyers over trial seeking his sack Governor Tambuwal storms Abuja court with 35 lawyers over trial seeking his sack

The Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, on Tuesday stormed a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja with 35 lawyers over a suit seeking to sack him from office.

The suit seeking Tambuwal’s removal as governor was filed by a Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the State, Senator Umaru Dahiru.

Citing “electoral fraud,” Dahiru alleged that the governor was illegally nominated by the party to participate in the 2015 governorship election in the state.

Dahiru informed the court that APC conducted “a fraudulent” primary election in 2014 in its bid to ensure that Tambuwal emerged as it gubernatorial candidate in the state governorship election.

The APC Chieftain claimed that list of accredited delegates was swapped at the election venue and that votes were arbitrarily, unlawfully and fraudulently allocated to Tambuwal

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No Nigerian was killed in south Africa - Minister says

•ANGER: Members of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) protesting in Abuja against xenophobic attacks in South Africa...yesterday

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Khadijah Abba Ibrahim, has told the Senate that no Nigerian lost his life in the renewed xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

 

The minister who appeared before the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs to explain what the government is doing to protect Nigerians in South Africa, noted that based on official information from Nigeria High Commission in South Africa, no Nigerian lost his or her life.

 

 She also said that nobody was convicted for the previous attacks and no compensation was paid by the South African government.

 

The minister said that they were informed that the South African President, Jacob Zuma, had condemned the attacks.

 

Chairman of the committee, Senator Monsurat Sunmonu, told the minister that Nigerians were interested to hear what the government is doing to protect them in South Africa.

 

Sunmonu said, “I will say that while we appreciate your coming and as we have to speak on behalf of Nigerians, what we discussed today is not what Nigerians are expecting from Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Nigerians will want to hear from the ministry that we have been to South Africa not to have invited the High Commission here to come and tell stories.

 

“We want to hear from the ministry that the Acting High Commissioner has actually invited Nigerians to talk to them to give them solace because tomorrow, nobody knows what is going to happen again.

 

“We are only telling them (Nigerians), to please hide to give a low profile. That means we have told them not to engage in their businesses again that they should be in hiding which is not good for Nigerians.

 

“We know the efforts of Nigerians in South Africa. We have been talking to you based on report of the Senate Committee with the Foreign Affairs Ministry in April, 2015. Two years ago we have this booklet and we have gone through all the findings and all the recommendations but unfortunately you have not met even one single thing out of it.

 

“How would we now believe what you have come here to tell us when you have actually stated in 2015 in April that you will be having a meeting with the commission in May, 2015 where you wrote that 84 million compensation would be paid and this is two years after. 

 

“So, does that mean that if we have not invited you this would have been another story. Have you been able to invite Nigerians that lost their properties in 2015 to tell them that we are negotiating something for you. No, you haven’t.

 

“To the committee we are not happy, we are highly disappointed and what we would expect is that your delegations, we have the mandate of the two Houses for us to go to South Africa. We  will all go together see them and look at the memoranda of understanding or bilateral of what you are signing.

 

“It has to be give and take. If it is necessary Nigeria will not hesitate to put sanctions on South Africa in this country.

 

“We would be able to force them to do the right thing with Nigerians outside otherwise we have to do back to them here in this country, its tit for tat and we would not hesitate to put our feet down to be able to tell them and say enough is enough,” Sumonu stated.

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How a Power holding company worker escaped death for disconnecting light

Hell was let loose in Ushafa, a community in Bwari area council of Abuja, as residents went after the Area Manager of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC, Emma Ijou, threatening to kill him and his workers after he shut down source of power to the entire area.

Ushafa, one of the recognized communities in the FCT is currently facing acute power problem as transformers supplied by AEDC in the area are not sufficient to power the entire community.

A source told DAILY POST that most transformers in the community were purchased by community members and allegedly taken over by the power company who most times, deprive them of the use of the same transformers they paid money to install.

But Drama, however, started on Monday morning when residents discovered that the entire area had been cut off from the power source on the order of the Area Manager, Emma Ijou, who alleged that residents refused to pay their bills.

Our correspondent gathered that the area was left in total darkness for nearly three days as the source of supply was cut off Saturday morning; and when contacted by a few community members, Emma told them power could only be restored when residents were ready to pay their bills.

A few people who took their bills to the branch office, had asked why their light should be disconnected instead of those who the manager claimed indebted, but he remained adamant.

When he made to escape from the scene, they tracked him and dragged him to the chief palace, located in the heart of Ushafa, near Bill Clinton Pottery House. But for the timely interventions of the community chief, residents were ready to beat the area manager who was visibly afraid and begging them to give him another chance. Mr Emma was set free after he promised to restore power to the community immediately.Consequently, angry residents wielding dangerous weapons stormed the Area office located at Peyi, near Ushafa, requesting to see the Area Manager and a few other officers who work with him. On citing them, some of the officers took to their heels, leaving only the Manager and a few other persons at the mercy of the residents.

When DAILY POST reached out to a few of the officers who escaped, they blamed their Manager for their ordeal, saying they had told him to give the order for reconnection. One of them who claimed anonymity said ‘’ We have been telling this manager to stop what he is doing. How could he have ordered that the entire community be disconnected? It’s not true that the community is not paying their bills. If you check our record, you will realize that majority have paid for the month of January and February, so what is he talking about.’’

Another staff who spoke to DAILY POST said, ‘’ The Area Manager has failed by this singular act. He has put his integrity on the line by simply saying residents did not pay their bills. He needs to remit the money in his possession and stop lying against residents. How can you even disconnect community light because a few people did not pay? Is that professional? We have been telling him,’’ he said.

When contacted on the phone, Ijuo, who declined comment, hung off. When our correspondent tried to call back, he rejected and switched off his phone, apparently because our correspondent identified himself as a journalist seeking reaction on the incident

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